Protector
by Jade Evangeline
Summary: After over a year after Departure, Tess comes back to Roswell with her son and some suprise cargo. Who will Max choose to be with Liz, or Tess and his son? Chapter 8!
1. Chapter 1

Protector

Chapter One: Arrival

A/N: I don't like Tess, mainly cuz her character was annoying and she killed Alex…but I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt and making her the way I think she should be. Hopefully you'll warm up to my idea of Tess and Destiny.

A/N: Tess is back this is about a year after "departure". Assuming that Tess left in June, this is around August of the next year. Isabel never married Jesse and Max spent the year searching for his son. Maria and Michael aren't together. Max and Liz are "working on their relationship," as Liz has never truly forgiven Max for the whole Tess incident. The whole Graduation episode never happened…nobody left town and the Evan's don't know their kids are aliens, at least not yet…the squad did graduate, but it was a normal graduation no danger involved.

"Max? Max!" a voice called to a brown haired young man, jarring him from his thoughts, as his silver spoon shattered the silence hitting the porcelain dish below him. "Max honey, are you okay?" asked Mrs. Evans, her face painted with concern.

Max stared at her aloofly before rising and backing away from the dinner table, Isabel and his parents watching him oddly. "I—I think I need to lay down, I don't feel well," he said quietly before stumbling around the corner and up the stares toward his bedroom. Isabel quickly moved to follow him.

"What's the matter with you?" she asked, her eyes full of concern.

Max stared at the window, the gentle breeze causing the leaves to scrape against the shiny pane. "I don't know. Something is happening, I can feel it Izzy."

Isabel walked toward him, her hand falling gently onto his shoulder. "What Max?"

"I don't know," he said, staring woefully into her eyes. "But whatever it is, it's coming fast."

Whispers in his head woke him up in the middle of the night. Unfocused eyes settled in the darkness as he stumbled around to reach the light switch. He touched his bare chest and was surprised when his fingers danced across his skin, wet with a light sheen of sweat. Slowly he made his way to the kitchen, the soft beating of a summer rain spell shadowing the sounds of his footsteps.

Shaky hands grabbed the refrigerator door as he pulled it open, the cold comforting him slightly. He searched for water yet somehow couldn't find it. The pain in his head began to sear when he heard a voice that sent chills down his back. Slowly he closed the kitchen door.

"Hold him," she said, before thrusting the infant into his hands. Max stared at the child, his eyes never leaving his son's face as the woman rushed around the kitchen, securing windows and making sure the doors were locked.

A part of him wanted to believe this was some nightmare; he couldn't believe she was back. How dare she come back, after what she did?

"Who's here?" she asked quietly, walking towards him. "Who else is here Max?"

He finally acquired the courage to look at the woman he had pictured meeting for the past thirteen months. Tess Harding had returned, and she was dripping water onto his kitchen floor.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, cradling the sleeping child in his arms, unwilling to hand him back over to _her. _

"I would think that would be obvious," she responded in a heavy accent that sounded like a cross between British and French, her eyes darting around the kitchen. He began to worry about why she seemed so paranoid. "Someone followed you here didn't they?" he asked, as she walked into the hallway and looked around before returning to him.

"No," she said, tucking her wet, curly hair into her black jacket before looking up at him. Something about her was different; she wasn't the strange girl that he had met almost two years ago, she looked broken, and Max felt no remorse at all for her current state. "I'm just making sure the lynch mob isn't her to cut this little visit short."

Max opened his mouth to respond when a loud banging came from the living room door. "Stay here," he said, handing her the baby and running into the dark corridor. Slowly he approached the door and opened it quickly when he realized who was there.

"We tried to call your cell phone but you weren't answering. Did you hear about what happened?" asked Liz rushing past him, Maria behind her. "Something unidentified entered the earth's atmosphere about an hour ago, but they can't find what it was, or any evidence to what it could be. You don't think it's some sort of unfriendly Czechoslovakian do you?"

Max quickly realized what was about to happen; World War three was going to erupt in his living room and he had no way to stop it. "What's wrong with you?" Maria asked Max, as she smirked at his stunned expression.

"Nothing," he said firmly, he didn't want her to press the matter. He wasn't worried about Tess, she deserved whatever Liz and Maria had planned for her, but he was more concerned about the welfare of his son.

Liz walked toward him an obscure look on her face as she looked toward the shadow figure in the dark hallway. "Who's that?" she asked.

Max turned around, as the female figure walked forward to reveal herself and child in the gentle glow of the moonlight. Max waited for Liz or Maria to react, but they didn't; Liz stood there, and Maria picked up the phone. "Michael, call Kyle, we have a code red. Tess is back."

Perhaps finally realizing what was happening Liz ran toward Tess, tears in her eyes, "How dare you show up here after what you did?" she screamed rushing towards her. Max caught Liz from behind as a stream of steady tears fell from her eyes. "How dare you," she sobbed.

In lieu of Liz's reaction Maria rushed forward, her arms outstretched toward Tess, "You kill me, you kill my son," Tess countered, her eyes narrowing as though she were prepared to defend her son at all costs. At her words, Max grabbed Maria holding her back. "That's my son," he said. "My son."

Maria's breath softened as she nodded towards Max, her eyes never leaving Tess'. Liz covered her eyes as the hallway light flicked on, the Evans' and Isabel standing at the foot of the stairs.

"Max, what's going on?" asked his mother.

Isabel's eyes went from Liz, to Maria, to her brother, then finally settling on Tess. Clutching her chest, drops of tears fell down her face, her grief far beyond words.

"Well, what do we do with her?" asked Kyle, as he rocked back and forth on his heels, his hands tucked into the sides of his jean pockets.

"We could rat her out," suggested Michael. "I'm sure the government would be happy to find her. Consider it a good deed for the day, a lot of people will be thrilled that the alien was caught."

"What are you going to tell your parents, Max?" asked Liz, her voice devoid of emotion. "They're going to start asking questions."

"Isabel's handling that right now," said Max, his voice low, his eyes falling on Tess. She was sitting on the couch, her eyes closed, clutching the child to her chest. He had so many questions for her; how she got there, what she had been doing all this time, her motivation for killing Alex, why she betrayed them all?

"I can't believe you actually showed up here," Kyle said, "after what you did."

Tess didn't respond, in fact she didn't acknowledge that she heard him; Kyle rolled his eyes.

"I agree with Michael," said Maria, her eyes narrowing at Tess. "She killed Alex, she deserves much worse. I think we should vote." She paused, waiting for approval from the rest. "You all know my stand."  
Isabel stared at Tess' unmoving figure. "She killed Alex, let her pay for what she did," she said, walking toward the dining room and sitting down, her head resting in her hands.

"No," Max said, "I was there in the white room and I remembered what they did. I wouldn't reserve that for my worst enemy."

Kyle hesitated, "She did kill Alex, but would we be any better than her. I say no," he said, his eyes falling to the ground.

"Yes," said Michael simply, turning to Liz.

"She killed our best friend Liz," Maria said.

Liz looked to Tess and to the others. She knew Tess deserved to pay, but was she willing to leave Max's son without a mother…

Breaking her from her thoughts, the door suddenly burst open, a hooded figure startling the group as it rushed in, closing the door behind it. Slowly it removed it robes, its face bringing tears and gasps from the group as they watched the spectacle.

"Alex!" cried Isabel, her chest heaving with sobs.

"Oh my God, this is a mind warp, this isn't true," said Maria, clutching her side as she heaved.

"Great timing," Tess mumbled, glowing eyes meeting Alex's.

"Sorry, I didn't want them to follow me. You okay, your worship?" Alex asked, grinning at Tess.

"I hate it when you call me that ," she said, a small grin falling from her lips.

"What the hell is going on?" cried Liz. "Alex, tell me this is real, I can't suffer another loss."

"Look," said Alex walking toward Liz, pulling up the leg of his khaki pants. "Look at this scar; it happened on my birthday…"

"When you got a ten speed bike and didn't know how to ride it," Liz said, tears staining her pale face as she brushed her hands against the scar.

"If this were a mind warp, how would Tess know where to put that?" asked Kyle, his eyes searching hers pleadingly. Without warning, Maria, Isabel and Liz launched themselves at Alex, they barely noticed Kyle's tears, or Max and he watched a stoic faced Tess.

The Evans appeared in the doorway, pallid and worried looking as they glanced at Max and Isabel. They knew eventually they would have to talk to Max about Tess, his son and him keeping a secret like getting a girl they barely knew, pregnant. Seeing the worry on Max's face and wondering who the stranger clothed in black robes being hugged by the girls were, with many doubts and fully of worry, they snuck up the stares to bed, leaving the conversation for morning.

As the Evans' left, Alex looked to Tess, continuing to embrace the girls. "You okay?"

"Fine," she said, stroking her son's head.

"And Zan?"

"Sleeping," she said, sighing.

"You named him Zan?" Max asked her, as he rose from seated position.

"Someone named Zan eventually has to be King of Antar," she replied. "He's wet, I have to change him." She began to leave the room."

"Wait," Isabel said, "are you guys safe? I mean, what about the government? What about Khivar?"

Tess stopped as she turned around to face them, Zan clutching at her blouse. "The government I can handle. And Khivar you don't have to worry about. He's dead," she said, resuming her walk to the kitchen. "I killed him."


	2. Chapter 2

Protector

Chapter 2: Admonitions

Rating: M

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Roswell.

A/N: Chapters 1-4 all take place in the span of a couple of hours. Thanks for the reviews they are appreciated. I'm trying my best to clear Tess' name so bear with me.

A/N: After this chapter, there will be the beginning of some serious rebel activity, you've been forewarned.

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

Avoiding the scene before him, Max found his thoughts wandering to the woman that had suddenly reintroduced herself into their lives. For so long Max had been harboring hatred for Tess for killing Alex and taking his son away from him. Although she was back among them now, Max found that his animosity toward her had not disappeared; on the contrary, it seemed to have grown greater. She had left with his child who he thought was dying; she lied to him and left all of his friends believing that Alex was dead. Max deserved an answer, and he would get one tonight.

Slowly, in an attempt to avoid any attention, he made his way into the den where Tess was changing Zan. Quietly he walked inside, watching Zan's tiny hands attempt grip his mother's wet, curly hair.

"We need to talk," he said.

Tess looked up at him momentarily before returning her attention to the gurgling child that lay beneath her. "There's nothing more to say," she said grimly. "Alex is back. You have your son. You would think that would be enough to make you happy."

Max glared at her. "You left us, remember? You lied to everyone, including me, you had Alex fake his death and you left the planet with _my _son! Then you come back here with Alex and Zan and you think the problem is solved?"

Max stared at her, waiting for Tess to respond. The mocking smile barely faded from her face as she picked up Zan and walked out of the room. Ready to charge after her, Max was surprised when she walked back into the room without their son. With a gentle click she closed the door before turning to face him.

"What do you want to know?" she asked, leaning against the door, her arms crossed beneath her breasts.

Slowly Max sat on the armchair of the nearby couch. "Well for starters, I want to know why you lied to me. "

"You know what Max? You are_ so _quick to blame me for my behavior towards you when you treated me even worse when I first came to Roswell. If anything you're just as much to blame as I am for everything that happened, so get off your high horse and stop talking to me like I'm a criminal. I've done far less wrong than you and all the mistakes I've made I've paid for and I got ten times more than I deserved," she said, turning toward the window.

Grimacing, a nagging part of him conceded that she was right; all of them had treated Tess poorly when she first arrived. Letting his anger fade, he stared at her, waiting to hear whatever she had to say.

"Alex is a Seeker," she said, turning to face Max. "When the Engineers recreated us, they used an ancient form of magic to ensure that there would be a Seeker, someone our own age whom we would trust to help us get back home. A Seeker is someone born with the knowledge of how to acquire the translation of the Book. There were five Seekers placed in Roswell. The Skins killed two of them, I don't know who or where the other two are and Alex was the fifth.

"Nasado _was _really working for Khivar," she continued bitterly. "And he knew that you, Michael and Isabel had gotten extremely close to Alex and that could threaten your return. Upon Nicholas' report that the three of you had no memory of the past and no desire to return home, you were a minimal threat to him here on Earth. The only catalyst to your return was Alex and his knowledge regarding the Book. It was Nasado's job to kill Alex and then return home with the Granolith."

"How did you find all this out?" asked Max.

"Nasado trusted me," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "He rarely bothered hiding his indiscretions. Eventually he thought I would join his cause."

"Why would he think that?"

Tess laughed. "He knew that you guys didn't trust me and would never accept me. Why do you think he pushed you to get to know me so much? Nasado wasn't stupid; he saw your devotion to Liz and knew that you would do everything in your power to shut me out. Eventually, he figured I would give up on you and together he and I would find Alex, retrieve the translation of the Book and return with the Granolith. Without it, you, Michael and Isabel would be stranded on Earth; I would be reinstated as Queen with Khivar as my King and Nasado as second in command. The return of the Queen with an heir would calm down the resistance and ensure the continuation Khivar's reign."

Looking around, Max tried to stop the millions of thoughts racing through his mind. For so long he had blamed Tess for their current situation when it had been he who had pushed everything this far.

"What happened next?" he asked

"Obviously I wouldn't side with Nasado because I was too devoted to you," she said disgustedly. "But _he _didn't know that, which is why he was probably so shocked when I killed him."

Jerking his head upward, Max stared at Tess' grim expression. "But he said the Skins—"

"Mind warp," she said simply, brushing a thick blonde strand from her face. "I made the wounds seem as though they were caused by the Skins, then I mind-warped him to believe it was them." She paused. "I'm not sure why he came to warn you. If need be, Nasado would have killed you, your friends and your families just to get a pat on the head from Khivar."

Watching Max silently contemplate, she waited for him to respond to her. "I know what you're thinking. I'm a murderer, how could I do that? That's the wrong way to—"

"I wasn't thinking that," he interjected, his voice low and gentle. "He would have killed Alex, probably us if he had the chance."

"Could this be, Max Evans finally understands the dog-eat-dog universe we live in?"

"That still doesn't explain why you lied about Alex," he said, ignoring her snide remark.

"Alex was a liability, Max. He knew how we could get home and Khivar would have to make a choice; kill Alex, kill the Royal Four, or kill all of us. Obviously we're a harder target, we have the means to protect ourselves, but Alex is basically a sitting duck. Unfortunately the Engineers didn't think enough to give the Seekers any kind of protection."

"And you couldn't have told us all this?" asked Max.

"No. You didn't trust me and you would've found a way to someone pin this on me especially cause I lived with Nasado. It's called guilty by association."

"Tess I wouldn't—"

"Oh shut up, Max! Any chances you had to shut me out to win more brownie points with your precious Liz you would've taken," she replied sourly.

Despite his arguments, Max knew Tess was right. By that time he was desperate to get Liz back and probably would have pushed Tess away further if he could have.

"I was trying to decide what to do about Alex, and then I got pregnant and despite what you or anyone else thinks, Zan _was _really sick. My baby was on the verge of dying and Khivar was deploying the Skins to assassinate us. I panicked. I mind warped Alex into finding the translation; I mind warped Kyle, Liz, Maria and Mrs. DeLuca so they would have various memories regarding me killing Alex, memories that never actually happened."

"You did all that with no promise that it would work. What if the mind-warps failed and they never remembered?" asked Max.

"My son was dying, I made sure I didn't mess up," she said coldly. "And as for then entire plot not working, there was something I could always count on to ensure mine and Alex's departure, and that was Liz. Anything she said to you Max, you'd believe. It was my word against hers and I knew you would pick her over me any day. Liz sealed all of our fates, from the beginning to now. Alex was hiding in one of the pods and joined me after you guys left."

Covering his eyes with his hands, Max grieved. She had done all of this to protect them, to save their baby, and he had played a pivotal role in her plans because she knew that he never trusted her.

"Tess," he said, walking towards her, his voice barely audible even though the room was deadly silent. "I'm sorry—"

"Don't Max," she said firmly, putting her hand forward to stop him. "If you had trusted me then our son would be dead by now. What's done is done and we can't go back. There's no point thinking about it now."

Max stared solemnly at the small girl who had blossomed into a woman during her thirteen month absence. She seemed so frail but she alone had more courage than he and all his friends. He found himself drawn to her, wanting to hold her and tell her that everything was alright now, that she wouldn't have to fight anymore. Most of all, he wanted to take care of her, and protect her, the way she had always protected him.

"There's something else," he said, his curiosity sparking. "You said Khivar was dead and that you killed him. What happened back on Antar?"

"It's a long story," she said dismissively.

"We've got all night," Max replied, offering her a gentle smile and promising himself to offer her so much more.

Next Chapter: Alex explains himself, Max and Tess connect, Tess comes into power and the military comes looking for the baby.


	3. Chapter 3

Protector

Chapter 3: Interlude

Disclaimer: I don't own Roswell

A/N: This Chapter is so Sci-Fi. I mean really out there. But hey it's Roswell, we are dealing with aliens. I promise there won't be as much Sci-Fi in the next chapters. Also this chapter has violence and is a little sad.

Summary: Alex explains himself, Max and Tess connect, Tess comes into power and the military comes looking for the baby.

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

Rating: M (for violence and language)

Thanks: To all those who reviewed I really appreciate it!

"I can't believe she forced you into going to Antar," cried Maria, throwing her arms up in frustration. "And making us think you were dead! What was she thinking?"

"She wasn't," Alex said. "Her kid was dying, Maria. You're not a mom, you wouldn't understand."

"Alex," Isabel began, touching his arm gently, "was the baby really sick? I mean, if we can breathe here, why couldn't he?"

"The Council of Elders said that it was a fail safe device," Alex said, scratching his ear. "If worst came to worst and none of you had memories, eventually someone would procreate and then at least one person from the royal four would have to return to Antar. Besides the air up there is pretty similar to Earth's. Why do you think I survived so long?"

"Sounds kinda harsh if you ask me," Michael said.

Alex snorted. "Yea, they're pretty rigid up there," he said. "I don't blame them, with all that's happened."

"What _did_ happen back on Antar?" asked Liz, staring at the closed door at the end of the hallway and wondering how long Max and Tess would talk.

"War. Lots of it," replied Alex. "When Tess and I got back, there was chaos everywhere. The granolith was programmed to take Tess and I to a predetermined location, only when we arrived it wasn't there. It was desolate, rocks and sand dunes. I remember standing and looking around when we first got out of the ship. There was absolutely nothing for miles. Then the hiding began."

"Hiding?"

"Yea, in the distance we could see troops marching. For miles all I saw were soldiers and flying ships. Later on we found out that it was the Empire marching to fight the Resistance," Alex said. "For a while I thought we were going to starve in the desert. But then about seven hours later an envoy from a rebel base came looking for us. They had seen us enter the atmosphere and took me and Tess to a base. Two weeks later, Tess had the baby."

Isabel and Kyle both chuckled when they noticed how pale Alex got at the thought of Tess giving birth. "I don't want kids anymore," said Alex. "You girls, man…you girls. I think I was screaming louder than she was. Oh my god." Alex clutched his stomach and leaned against the couch, Isabel rubbing his shoulders. "I think I'm gonna be sick again just thinking about it."

"That bad, huh?" Maria asked, appalled.

"Oh yea," Alex acquiesced.

"What happened next?" asked Michael.

"Well everything was okay for a while. The baby and Tess eventually recovered and we were learning the art of war from various generals. Everyone seemed thrilled to have Tess back," Alex said. "But then Khivar got wind of her return and went looking for Tess. He started burning communities. In one night at least one thousand people were killed during a raid in one of the nearby cities. Tess couldn't handle the fact that people were dying because of her. She turned herself in."

"She went to Khivar?" asked Isabel.

"Yea, she did. I tried to stop her, but all she kept telling me was to protect her son, no matter what. I thought I'd never see her again. And that I'd never get to come home," Alex said, his head drooping.

"I can't believe she put you in that predicament," said Maria vehemently. "God, can she be anymore selfish?"

Alex frowned. "Don't Maria," he began. "If it weren't for her I'd probably be dead, like not-coming-back dead. She went through hell to protect me and Michael, Max and Isabel. Don't ever say that about her in front of me again."

"I'm sorry," Maria muttered quietly. Alex had never raised his voice at her before.

"Alex, what happened to Tess?" asked Isabel.

"She was gone for about three months and when she came back, she was a completely different person. Less human than before," said Alex. "I mean, by the looks of her she had been…hurt, physically, but for about two weeks after they ransomed her to the people, she didn't speak. Not one word. She wouldn't even hold Zan. I think that's the reason they gave her back, they probably thought she went insane."

"What do you think they did to her?" asked Kyle, shivering with anger.

"I think that would be obvious."

Kyle closed his eyes, breathing hard as Isabel clutched Alex's shoulder.

"She had various open wounds and bruises on her arms and legs, and the rest of her was covered, but I know it was bad," said Alex, watching as Isabel began to cry. The girls seemed to take the news of Tess' torture more harshly than the men, and Alex was sure he knew why. "They didn't rape her if that's what you're thinking. Evil and barbaric yes, but they're not sexual deviants, it's not in their blood."

"How do you know?"

"That's what the Council said. The only people that go around assaulting women are various tribes. Even for the bad guys, that's just something they don't do," Alex said. "Besides I would have seen it."

"What do you mean?" asked Michael.

"Well, when she was practically brain dead for those two weeks I tried everything to reach her. One night I brought Zan in and we fell asleep next to her. Zan started crying in the middle of the night, and I woke up to find her standing by the window, singing to him. When I touched her, I got a flash of everything that happened."

Liz grimaced, taking all the information in. Despite was Tess had done to save her friends it was difficult for her to not still hate her. Glancing at the room where Tess and Max were talking, Liz frowned. She and Max weren't exactly together, but that didn't mean that she wanted Tess, or any other woman to be with him.

"Hey, you don't have to worry about them," Alex said, nodding in the direction in which Liz was looking. "Tess is less human now than she was before. I doubt she feels anything for Max now. I doubt she feels anything at all."

"We were at war," said Tess somberly. "All the time. Raids, the destruction rebel bases, public executions of people who were against the Empire. So many people died. Most of Khivar's supporters were only in agreement with his practices because they were afraid of what Khivar would do if they resisted him."

Max watched her as she spoke; trying to imagine what it would be like to live in constant fear like that. His people were dying, and for the first time ever, he actually cared.

"When I was captured I heard various war plans he had. I heard conversations between his councilors and allies and even the many people in league with him that thoroughly despised him."

"You were captured by Khivar?" asked Max, worriedly rushing toward her. "Are you alright? What did he do to you?"

"It doesn't matter now."

"Yes, it does Tess. It matters to me."

"I'm fine," she said, looking away. As hard as she tried, there were several times when she woke up screaming remembering the things they did to her. After spending months in Khivar's various dungeons she had learned how to survive anything. Now, it was easier for her to completely quell her emotions. Emotions make you weak. And weakness was something that she could never afford.

"Tess?" Max asked gently. He could tell she was deep in thought, but some sadistic side needed to know what happened to her. He needed to see it. He reached out to her when she was absorbed in thought hoping that her defenses were down enough so that he could get into her head and see what she had felt. Jerking, a flash of light took him into Tess' mind and sorting through various memories of her childhood, he found himself in Tess' memories of Antar.

_"Good morning, Tess," said a voice, echoing in the darkness._

_Tess was laying on the floor, clinging to the rag that was covering her as she shivered on the wet._

_"You know what it's time for," he said. Her trembling intensifying, she listened as the bolt was loudly unlocked and her cell door was pushed open. Grabbing her limp wrist, the man under the brown cloak dragged her by the arms down a narrow slimy hallway, various screaming ringing in her ears as she was taken into a wide, dimly lit room. There were two people in their waiting for her. They were cloaked as well._

_"You're majesty," the man said sarcastically, "it's looking as though you're getting worse. I can't believe you've survived two months in here." He laughed bitterly._

_"Chain her, Lamis" said the voice from the other cloaked man._

_"Hoisting her into a standing position," Lamis pulled her tattered shirt over her head, leaving her to shiver in her undergarments. Grabbing her by the shoulders, he spun her around so that she was facing the wall._

_The second man that spoke walked toward her examining her body. "Well we can't leave these on you," he said, pointing to the bloody welts all over her back. With a flick of the wrist the wounds dissolved. "It's better to make fresh ones, your highness."_

_The second man, who Tess knew was named Malovus pulled her wrists over head before binding them and fastening them to a hook in the middle of the room. With another wrist flick the hook began to rise, leaving Tess with her feet dangling one inch off the ground._

_Tess closed her eyes just as the man let the leather rope of the bull whip hit the ground. _

_Stepping outside back, Lamis and Malovus settled on the bench as the third man walked forward, weapon in hand._

_"Easy on her today, eh, Rigel?"_

_"As you wish, sir," he replied._

_"Her highness the Queen of Antar," began Malovus, "permission to speak."_

_Tess remained silent. "Perhaps, she is sleep. Wake her Rigel."_

_Pulling back his arm he thrust the whip at Tess back, shattering her flesh, a small stream of blood dripping down her back. She flinched._

_"Where's the rebel base?" asked Malovus. Again Tess did not speak. Nodding at Rigel, Lamis and Malovus watched with great excitement as the whip tore through her delicate skin again._

_"Where is Zan?" Silence. Whip._

_"Where is Vilandra?" Silence. Whip._

_"Where is Rath? Silence. Whip._

_"Where is your son?" Silence. Whip._

_Lamis circled her, staring at the puddle of blood at her feet. "I can never get enough of seeing your red, hybrid blood on the ground. Red is such a pretty color," he said, looking at his own veins, filled with green blood._

_For the rest of the session the questions continued until Lamis and Malovus were satisfied. Soon they left Rigel to take down her body. Watching as they left, Rigel rushed to her side. "Milady, are you alright?"_

_She smiled gently at him, before opening her bloodshot eyes. "I've been better."_

_Gently he lowered her to the ground before conjuring a pulse and putting on her back. She hissed. "I think that hurts more than the whip."_

_"My deepest apologies," he said. "Milady, if you don't mind me telling you, perhaps it would be best to give the name of at least one rebel base. They are getting bored with the whipping; they will resort to much worse forms of interrogation. Perhaps even the location of the Granolith will suffice."_

_"I can't," Tess said hoarsely. "I will not betray my people, the Republic, or my family. Thank you, Rigel, you're kindness has not been overlooked."_

His body jerking, Max found himself on the floor in a room in his house breathing hard. He struggled to fight back tears. "Have fun?" Tess asked, her expression blank.

"Why?"

"It was an interrogation, Max," she said sarcastically.

"Why would you do that? For us? For me?"

"Because….because," she said, pausing. She wasn't quite sure what she was fighting for nowadays. "For my son."

Max looked at her sadly. "I don't need you to feel sorry for me," she said, looking behind Max at the clock.

"Can you watch Zan? There's something I have to do."

"What? Now?"

Tess turned quickly and headed for the door, "Tess, what's going on?"

"The government is coming for me and my son."

Liz was surprised to see Tess and Max storm out of the room. Quickly, Max raced toward his sleeping son on the couch and cradled the infant in his arms.

"What's going on Tess?" asked Alex, walking toward her.

"The FBI," she said.

"It's not time yet," said Alex, looking at the clock on top of the TV. "We need another hour."

"We don't have another hour," she said. "I think I can do it."

"Are you sure?" asked Alex, resting his hands on her shoulders. The group was surprised at the closeness between the two of them.

"I'm sure," she said, digging through her pockets and pulling out a large blue stone. "Stand back."

Alex pulled Max, the baby and everyone else toward the wall as they watched him curiously. "What's she going to do?" asked Maria, clutching Kyle and Liz.

"Turn back time," said Alex.

"She can do that? Since when?" asked Isabel.

"Since now."

"Why do you need more time?" asked Max.

"This was planned for six a.m.," Alex said.

"What was planned?" Michael asked.

Alex sighed. "A huge mind warp and a change in time. She was going to mind warp most of New Mexico into believing various things including the fact that I never died using the Cronos Stone. Now be quiet so she can concentrate."

Watching Tess, they were surprised when she became encased a blue light. The color engulfed her entire body and formed a type of jello-like substance around her. Slowly the dense liquid formed a bubble and began expanding at a rapid rate. The group recoiled but Alex steadied them. "It's okay," he said. "It won't hurt you."

Quickly the liquid crept onto them. It was cold and moist and within a blink of an eye it had consumed everything in the house, traveling out of the windows and enveloping everything around them. Miraculously, Max saw that the time of the VCR began to go backwards. Shadowy figures that he realized were himself, Isabel and his parents moved around him. It was replaying, backwards, everything they had done that day.

Tess felt herself spinning. Her chest was heaving and she felt as though her skull would split in two. She had to do this, for her son. For Alex. Concentrating all of her energy, she let the energy of the Stone fill the earth and with a burst of power on her end, let the Stone erase memories, implant new ones and turn back time to twenty-four hours before she, Alex and Zan arrived. With a ragged breath she cut off power from the stone, her limp body slamming to the floor, the bright blue lights, fading from purple, to grey, to black.

Max waited for the light to completely fade before handing the baby to Isabel as both he, Alex and Kyle rushed to Tess' side.

"Is she okay?" asked Kyle, taking her hand in his. She was cold.

Alex frowned. "No," he muttered. "God damn it, she wasn't strong enough yet. She had used a lot of energy when we landed to protect us when we came through the atmosphere. Isabel, Max, Tess needs your help."

­­­­­­­­­­

What do u think? Please Review.

Next Chapter: Chaos- Max and Isabel struggle to save Tess, the gang adapts to the changes that Tess made and a new enemy comes to Roswell.


	4. Chapter 4

Protector

Chapter 4: Chaos

A/n: Okay this is getting more sci-fi than I thought it would. Oh well. They are aliens after all.

Disclaimer: I don't own Roswell.

Summary: Max and Isabel struggle to save Tess, the gang adapts to the changes that Tess made and a new enemy comes to Roswell and Max gets a memory.

Rating: M

"What do we do now?" asked Maria, clutching Kyle as he watched Alex caress Tess' brow.

"We need the healing stones, Max. She needs energy," Alex said, watching as Max touched Tess' cold, clammy skin, a horrified expression on his face.

"She's dying," said Max. He could feel it. After all she did, killing Khivar, giving birth to their son; she was dying in his living room.

"Thanks for the update," Alex said, hoisting Tess up as Michael and Kyle helped carry her.

"How can we save her?" asked Michael.

"Michael, you're the Destructor. You have vast amounts of energy that you haven't even tapped into. Isabel is a Channeler; she can harness your energy and pass it to Max who obviously is the Healer. You'll need to concentrate and work together. And you'll need the stones. We have to get her to the Granolith," said Alex.

Breathing roughly, Maria, Liz and Kyle watched helplessly as Michael carried Tess' limp body to the car, before strapping her in. "Liz, Maria, Kyle, stay here," Max demanded.

"What? Hey, that's my sister-"

"Yea, well she's my wife," said Max, grabbing a pair of shoes and rushing toward the door. "I win."

Leaning back against the door Liz closed her eyes. _His wife._ _His wife. _Liz had always imagined that Max would bestow her with that title. But his only concern at the moment seemed to be Tess' welfare.

"It's okay," Maria said, reading her best friends mind. "He didn't mean it. It's the situation Liz. He didn't mean it."

Praying that her friend was right, Liz rested her head on Maria's shoulder as the three humans watched the black truck pull out of the driveway and disappear down the road.

Carefully they rested Tess' body on a long surface in the Granolith before pulling out the healing stones. "This didn't work on Nasado," Isabel said. "What if we fail?"

"We won't," said Max. After what Tess had told him about killing Nasado, he was pretty sure that she hadn't even tried to heal him that night.

"Concentrate," said Alex.

Clearing their minds, they held the stones in place as they tried to tap into their powers. Max was exhausting himself trying to heal Tess without their help, Michael was getting frustrated and Isabel was scared. After minutes of silence, the three of them opened their eyes to see Tess' even paler face.

"It's not working!" cried Isabel, her eyes watering with pain and remorse. "Why isn't it working?"

"Because you're not concentrating. Max you can't do this alone so stop trying. Michael, stop getting angry and Isabel I know you feel guilty about what happened but you have to block that out right now," said Alex.

"We're not strong enough," she said, clutching the stone and lowering her hand.

"Yes you are," said Alex. "All of you are one unit. Max can heal, Isabel, you can channel, and Michael can protect. Tess is the conductor; you guys are four parts of a whole. Why do think there's the Royal Four and not the Royal Seven? The four of you make up the four elements that exist in every part of the universe. Michael gets his energy from fire, Isabel guides the energy, like a river, Max holds in the energy and produces life from it like earth, and Tess can conduct and possess it, like air. You can bring life, the four of you. And you can bring death. Don't let Tess die. You can do this. Try again."

Wondering how Alex knew that information and reeling from what he had just told them, they concentrated on their task. Without any guidance Michael concentrated on heat, hoping that he could pass some sort of electricity to Isabel. Surprisingly, he began to feel his own body getting hotter and was calmed by the soothing effect it had on him.

Suddenly, Isabel felt a hot burst of energy and knew it was from Michael. It felt as though he had wrapped himself around her, and she was fully encased in his body heat. Reveling in the feeling of contentment, she relaxed and concentrated on letting the energy slowly flow to Max.

Jerking, Max could feel the energy coming from Isabel in a steady stream and focused on transmitting the energy to Tess, slowly enough so that it would revitalize her and not kill her. Removing one of his hands from the stones, her reached for Tess and steadied his hand over her heart. Letting the energy flow through him, he could feel it drip from his fingertips into her as the force began to bathe Tess in an aquamarine light. Slowly he felt himself drowning in her memories.

"_What are you asking me to do?" asked Alex, watching as Tess sat in a chair next to him._

"_To help me," she said, her body quivering. "I need to get home, Alex. Home."_

"_Why? Why not tell the others?"_

"_Because, if I did, they'd be in danger, just like you are now. I need to protect you Alex and I can't do that sick."_

"_I don't understand. What's happened to you?" Alex asked her._

"_I'm pregnant. The baby is Max's. But he's sick. He can't breathe," she said, her eyes streaming with tears. "If we don't leave, he could die. My son could die Alex."_

_Sliding on the chair, she fell to her knees as she gently cried. "Please Alex. I'm begging you."_

Feeling the energy continue to leave his body, his mind was too weak to leave Tess' memories and he felt himself being sucked back into her mind.

"_It's the perfect place Zan," she said, her blue robes sparkling under light of the two Antarian suns. "The baby's room will be by the garden. She'll love it." Ava smiled at him and Zan felt his heart melt._

"_Whatever you desire, my darling," he said, walking toward her and stroking her swollen belly lovingly. Whatever problems he was having with Vilandra, with the Republic, didn't matter. This was the only place he wanted to be. With his wife and his daughter that was nestled safely in her womb. "Perhaps it is best though, if you have the baby at a predetermined location and not at the palace."_

_She turned toward him. "Why? Zan is something wrong?" she asked, stroking his face as she watched him concernedly. _

"_War is upon us, I can feel it. Rath knows it too and with Vilandra writing secret messages to God knows who, we cannot be too careful. I wouldn't survive if anything happened to the two of you, Ava. You and this child are my life, and I cannot, and will not live without you."_

_She nestled her head on his shoulder as he stroked her wavy, waist length hair. He would not let his kingdom fall into the hands of traitors and thieves. He would not let his family fall apart and he would not lose his wife and child._

Feeling the last blast of energy leave his body, Max collapsed onto the floor, a steady stream of tears flowing from his eyes. He and Tess had been a family, a real family. He had lost his kingdom, his wife and his daughter.

Quickly Isabel and Michael rushed to Max's side. "Are you okay?" asked Michael, breathing heavily.

He remained quiet.

"Max," Isabel said, shaking him. Relieved she watched as his eyes fluttered open. Regaining consciousness of his surroundings, he quickly stood up and ran to Tess, grasping her hands as he watched for signs of life.

"Tess?" he asked gently, his free hand stroking her forehead. Michael watched as Max continuously tried to wake up Tess. Walking to Isabel, he let out his hand to help her up. Pulling her against him, Michael held Isabel in his arms as she recovered from using her powers. She was surprised to realize how right it felt to be held by him. Similar thoughts were running through Michaels mind.

Max watched frightened as Tess' eyes fluttered open. Clutching his hand, he helped her into a sitting position. "Where's Zan?"

"He's at my house with Kyle, Liz and Maria. Are you okay?" he said, cupping her face in his hands and staring into her eyes.

She smiled tiredly. "I'm fine," she said. Slowly she tried to get off the stone slab, but Max stopped her. "Really Max, I'm okay."

Without speech, Max grabbed her and lifted her off the table. "Put me down," she said.

"No."

Isabel and Michael watched Max hold her closely as he carried her out of the Granolith doors and into the car. Wrapping one arm around her waist, the two of them stumbled behind him.

"Where are they?" asked Liz, as she watched Maria coddle the infant.

"I don't know," Maria said. "I'm sure whatever they're doing takes time. Look at him, Liz he's so adorable. I swear I have never seen a cuter baby. Maybe that's his alien power, being irresistibly cute."

Liz rolled her eyes. Yes, their son was cute, but that was Tess' and Max's baby and the thought of them making a child together prohibited her from desiring any contact with the infant.

Kyle laughed as Maria played with Zan. He couldn't believe how beautiful she looked holding a child. "I seriously want one of these," she said, kissing the top of Zan's head as he gurgled.

Suddenly, Kyle jumped from his seat as Michael and Isabel burst through the door. Max was following them with Tess, who was asleep in his arms.

"Is she okay?" asked Kyle rushing forward and touching Tess.

"Yea," Max said, walking past them toward his bedroom. "She's just really tired."

Liz watched as Max disappeared. Alex closed the door behind them.

With wide eyes, Maria watched as Mrs. Evans descended from upstairs. "What's going on? I thought I heard a door close. What time is it?"

Worriedly Isabel glanced at the clock. It was almost seven in the morning.

"Are you guys having a little party?" Diane asked.

The group exchanged looks. "Yea Mrs. Evans, a study party, we wanted to get an early start on it," chimed in Alex, rolling his eyes at everyone else's oblivious expressions.

"Oh well that's nice," she said, reaching the landing of the first floor. "Oh my goodness, whose baby is this?" She rushed toward the infant. "He's adorable."

Looking appalled Isabel looked to Michael and Alex for answers. Everyone remained silent. Slowly Max strolled into the living room, shocked to see his mother holding his son.

Lighting the cigarette and bringing it to his lips, the cloaked man inhaled. This was the only good thing about this god damned planet. Touching a diamond shape imprint on his hand, he lowered his head.

"Ava is here," he said. "I just encountered a huge burst of energy coming from Roswell, New Mexico. The others are present as well. We must act quickly."

"Affirmative," spoke another voice. "If they tap into their full powers we may not be able to get the child. Ava is extremely powerful now and she is more driven to protect her son than ever. I need you to bring him to me. Our fate depends on it. You succeeded once, we need you again Balbus."

"Understood my lord, consider it done. In a matter of time, the child will be ours and the royal four destroyed once and for all," said the man named Balbus before inhaling again. "You have my word."


	5. Chapter 5

Protector

Chapter 5: Family Ties

Disclaimer: I don't own Roswell.

Rating M

A/N: Thanks for all the feedback, please read, enjoy and review!

_7:14 am_

_An Abandoned Warehouse Somewhere outside of Roswell_

"The Queen is being protected," said Balbus, removing his overcoat to show an almost transparent, unearthly body. "As is her child."

"I know," said the woman flipping her dark hair behind her and resting her back against the cold wall in the abandoned warehouse. "We must act quickly. You practically promised his highness that we had the job done already and you don't even know how to infiltrate their home." She laughed. "They're only children. Ava isn't the queen we killed so long ago and this Zan is no king."

"He has strength, you felt it. You know what he's capable of. Its only time before he gets all of his memories then neither you, I, nor his majesty will be able to stand against them."

"Then hurry and take the child, with their baby gone, they won't spend enough time together to retrieve their memories. If Vilandra, Rath, Zan and Ava remember their love for each other, their connection, nothing will be able to stop them."

"I told you I would handle it, Kaira!" snapped Balbus.

"Fine, when you do bring the child to me," she said, standing. With a wave of her hand a black portal appeared in the atmosphere. "Assure Ava that he will be loved."

_Early morning_

_The Evans' Home_

Max watched serenely as Tess held their son, tapping Zan's back gently as she covered herself after breastfeeding. Max laughed when Zan let out a loud burp before she laid him onto the bed.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, sitting on the bed, their son in between them.

"I'm okay," she said, smiling tiredly.

Max grimaced as she swayed. "You need to rest," he said gently, covering her hand with his.

"I can't," she said seriously.

"Why?"

She shrugged, gently caressing Zan's fingers as he drifted off into sleep. "This is too….perfect…too quiet." She smiled sadly. "I guess I'm not used to it."

"What are you used to?" Max asked.

"Running," she said. "Always running. I haven't been so immobile since I was kept in Khivar's prison." She shuddered at the memory.

"Get used to it," Max said, reaching out and touching her cheek. "I'm not going to let anything else happen to you or our son. I promise."

Tess smiled tiredly. Silently they sat for a while, watching their son's bright blue eyes flutter before he fell into a deep slumber. "He has the most beautiful eyes," said Max after a moment. "Like you."

"Yea, well he has you hair and your big ears," she said, grinning at Max. "I don't know what I would have done if I lost him. He's my whole world."

Max couldn't get over the way she was looking at their son. For so long, he had believed her to be a cold blooded killer, but seeing her gaze so lovingly at their baby made him realize how stupid he had been to think that she would ever murder Alex.

"Max, what are we going to do about your parents?" she asked. "We're going to eventually have to tell them about the baby."

"They already know. Remember, Isabel told them," said Max.

"Yea, well when I turned back the clock that conversation became null and void."

Max grimaced. "I had been meaning to ask you, what exactly did you do?"

"Well, everyone believed Alex was dead and I needed to change that. Once we were freed and Khivar was killed, I searched for a Scholar who could give me information on how I could make people forget that Alex had died. If it wasn't for him, my son would be dead; the least I could do was give him his life back. We would have come to Earth much sooner, but I needed to find the Cronos Stone. Once I did, the Scholar told me that while time was being reversed, the people who weren't being affected would go into a state of shock and their minds would be vulnerable, I could implant memories or erase them. So I did."

"Whose memories did you erase?" asked Max.

"Your parents, Maria's mom's, Liz's parents, anyone who knew Alex was dead. It was practically half of New Mexico. As for the rest of the world, I don't have that kind of power, so if someone recognizes Alex outside of New, Mexico, that's just something we'll have to deal with. His death only made it to the local news, so I doubt anyone outside of town knows who Alex Whitman is."

"So no one knows that he faked his death?"

"Nope, no one but us. I also had to erase the memories of the people from the military base. I couldn't erase the crash, obviously, but I could erase all of the memories of the people who saw Alex, me, or our son, or knew of out whereabouts. The military knows about the crash and so does the rest of the world, but there's absolutely no evidence pointing to me, Alex and the baby."

Max was awed; he had to eventually find out how Tess became so powerful. "And for the memories implanted?"

"That was easier and was more me than the stone. I made people believe that Alex had always been here, lurking around Roswell, getting ready for college." Tess chuckled. "He wanted me to make people think he joined some rock band and was touring around the world for a year. Obvisouly that wasn't plausible."

Max chuckled, for a fleeting moment he had a glimpse of Alex with a Mohawk playing a guitar. "Other than that, most the memory implants were more about me and the baby."

"Like what?" asked Max.

"Well Zan and I needed a place to stay-"

"You could stay here," said Max seriously.

"As nice as your parents are Max, I doubt that. Once you tell them I don't think they'll be comfortable with the mother of your child living in the same house as you. Besides, you have a life of your own and I don't want to put a damper on them."  
"Tess, you're not putting a damper on anything. And Zan's my son too," he said, honestly, glancing down at their sleeping child. "I want to be a part of his life as much as I can and that won't be possible if we're apart. The three of us are a family."

Tess smiled broadly. Other than the short time in which she lived the Valenti's, Tess had never actually been apart of a real family. Nasedo would leave her for months at a time and when he was home they didn't actually talk about her day at school or anything else for that matter.

"Hey, you okay?" asked Max, noticing her far-away expression.

"Yea," she said quietly.

"Tess, what's wrong?" asked Max, scooping Zan into his arms so that he could move closer to her.

"Nothing, it's just…I was so scared when I found out I was pregnant. I didn't think I would be good at this," she said, pointing to Zan. "Nasedo wasn't ever a dad and I thought…"

"Hey," he said, lifting her chin so that she was staring into his eyes. "From what I can see you're a great mom, Tess. The thought of you not being a great mother is ridiculous."

She offered Max a half smile at his remark before looking over her shoulder at the door. "Eventually we're going to have to go downstairs."

"I know," said Max sighing. "But for now, I just want to be here with you and our son."

_Downstairs_

"Liz sit down!" yelled Isabel as the brunette made her way toward Max's room.

Turning abruptly, Liz scowled at her. "Leave them alone, Max is trying to bond with his son," said Isabel, peering into the kitchen hoping that her mom didn't here her as she prepared a huge breakfast for all of them.

"Not if Tess has anything to do with it," mumbled Maria. Both Alex and Kyle glared at her. "What! I'm just saying. They have a kid together and we all know how Tess feels about him."

"So what!" said Isabel. "Tess almost just died and if Michael and I have to use our powers to keep you out of there, we'll do it." Alex smiled broadly at her. Slowly Liz turned around and sat next to Maria.

"So where do we all go from here?"

"We keep it cool, don't panic, and if you can't lie, then keep your mouth shut," said Michael looking pointedly at Liz and Maria. "We'll wait to see what Max wants us to do."

Maria and Kyle looked at Michael, shocked at his response. Normally, Michael hated taking orders from Max and they were utterly baffled by his response. Michael, on the other hand, could tell that the group was stunned by his response but he didn't care. When they had healed Tess, he got so many memories of Max as King, of their brotherhood and there was no way that he could deny who he really was now. Isabel felt exactly the same, especially regarding Max and Tess. She had scene how much Zan loved Ava, loved her enough to die for her. A love like that shouldn't die over time and Isabel vowed to herself that she would push Liz out of the picture so the five of them, Max, Tess, Michael, herself and baby Zan would be a family. Just like before Khivar came and ruined all their lives.

Surprised, the group watched as Max, Tess and sleeping Zan descended down the stairs, both of them looking extremely relaxed and content. Liz immediately got to her feet and rushed toward him. If Diane hadn't been in the kitchen, Isabel would have blasted her with her powers.

"Is everything okay?" asked Liz working her way around Tess to Max.

"Yea," he replied, keeping his eyes on Tess as she sat between Kyle and Alex. He couldn't help but smile when he thought of how beautiful Tess looked holding their son. "Everything's fine Liz."

Max walked to where Michael and Isabel were sitting, leaving Liz looking completely hurt and dumbfounded. He didn't have time to make nice with Liz right now, there were far more pressing matters at hand.

"I'm going to tell mom," said Max.

"Everything?" asked Michael.

"No, not everything, just what she needs to know."

"Max, are you sure?" he asked, touching her brother's arm.

"Yea," he glanced over at Tess and Zan. "They're my responsibility and I'm going to take care of them. We can't keep up this charade forever, and I don't want to. I'll be back."

Throwing a nervous smile to Tess, Max walked into the kitchen to confront his mother. It would have probably been better to tell his parents at the same time, but his mother was far more understanding, and he figured she could soften the blow for him when it was time to tell his dad.

"Hi, mom," he said, walking into the kitchen and leaning against the fridge as Diane whipped a bowl of eggs.

"Hi sweetie," she said. "All your friends staying for breakfast?"

"Yea," he said. "Can you stop cooking for a minute?"

"Why honey?" she asked, concerned. "Is something wrong?"

"No, I just, there's something I need to tell you."

Quickly, Diane turned the heat from under the bacon and put the bowl and whisk down before sitting at the table across from Max. "I don't really know how to say this," said Max, looking directly into his mother's eyes.

"Oh, honey you can tell me anything."

"I know." Max breathed deeply. "You remember Tess?"

"Tess. Tess?" said Diane faintly, trying to remember the girl. "Oh, blonde hair, small, really bright personality?"

"Yea, that's her," said Max, smiling fondly.

"Well, things between her and I…we were sort of together."

"I know, honey. Where is Tess now, Max? Isabel said she moved away."

"She did," said Max, his voice shaking. "But now she's back."

"Oh?"

"Yea, she's actually in the living room right now," he said. "Holding our son."

Diane opened her mouth to respond just as what Max had told her finally dawned on her. "The baby, that baby is yours and Tess' son?"

"Yea."

From the living room, the group heard a loud thud just before they sped toward the kitchen to find Max trying to pick his mother off the floor. "She fainted," he said, noticing Isabel's stunned face. Alex and Kyle seemed like they were trying not to laugh, Michael looked angry, Maria and Liz looked shocked and Tess and Isabel's expressions were rather unreadable. "A little help here?"

Quickly, Michael rushed to help hoist Diane up and carry her towards the living room.

"Max, you killed her!" exclaimed Isabel, following behind him and Michael.

"Don't be ridiculous. I told her about the baby, and she fainted."

After lying her on the couch the eight of them hovered over Diane Evans' still body.

"Well," began Michael. "What the hell do we do now?"


	6. Chapter 6

Protector

Chapter 6: Hide and Seek

A/N: Okay, no sci-fi stuff in the next few chapters. I really want to let Max and Tess spend some time together before the danger begins. Tell me if all the fluff gets too boring.

Disclaimer: I don't own Roswell.

Rating: M

_The Evan's Home_

"She's waking up!" said Kyle watching anxiously as Mrs. Evans begin to stir. Isabel, Michael, Max and Liz rushed to her side while Maria and Alex exchanged nervous grins. Tess sat quietly on the couch clutching her sleeping son.

"What happened?" Diane asked groggily, rubbing the back of her head.

"You fainted," said Michael as though it should be obvious to Mrs. Evans what had happened to her.

"No, really Michael?" asked Isabel, sarcasm dripping from her voice. Michael winked at her.

Slowly Diane sat up just as Max approached her. "Mom," he began gently. "Do you remember what we talked about?"

Diane grimaced. "We were in the kitchen and you wanted to talk," she said slowly, trying to remember what happened next. She opened her mouth to speak when she finally remembered what Max had told her. She looked astonished and surprisingly….happy. "I'm a grandmother."

Max beamed. "Yea, you are."

"Well," said Diane excitedly, "where is he? And more importantly, where is she?" Her last remark came out stern and the smile Max as wearing slowly faded away. He was nervously anticipating Diane's response to Tess.

Quickly Kyle, Liz, Michael and Isabel backed away from Diane so that she could get a clear view of Tess and her son. Immediately, Max ran to her side. With wobbly legs Diane got up from the couch and gradually began to approach a nervous looking Tess. Max gave his wife a reassuring squeeze.

Stopping directly in front of her, Tess and Max watched apprehensively as Diane's stoic faced turned into a pleasant grin. "Welcome to our family," she said tearfully, leaning in to give Tess a hug. Surprised at her response, Tess looked to Max before the felt herself being enveloped in Diane Evans' arms.

Liz scowled. Its not that she wanted Max to be in trouble but, honestly, he's eighteen and he has a baby. And here was Diane Evans practically marrying the two of them in their living room.

"Can I hold him?" asked Diane.

"Sure," Tess said timidly, handing her son to Max's mom.

"Oh my god," said Diane. "He's so beautiful. Tess, Max, he's amazing."

"I know," her son responded immensely happy with his mother's response to their child.

"What's his name?"

"Alexander James Evans," Tess said proudly as Diane began walking away with the baby.

"I thought his name was Zan?" Max whispered, confused.

"Well, that's what I call him," she mumbled back before speaking to everyone. "I named him after Alex for obvious reasons." Alex blushed. "And his middle name is James, after your dad." Kyle smiled proudly. "This way he has a normal human name, but he can still be referred to as Zan." Tess whispered the last part and shrugged her shoulders before sitting down next to Alex. Max smiled at Tess realizing that she never ceased to amaze him.

Slowly he walked towards her and sat on the armchair of the couch before bending over and whispering into her ear. "That's a nice name and all," he said, "but do you think I can have a say in naming our next kid?"

Tess blushed furiously. Max was staring at Tess with a weird look on his face, she was looking down at the carpet, Liz was looking more pissed than ever and the rest of them pretended that they didn't hear what Max had just said. Isabel and Michael however grinned proudly.

"_Just as it should be," _thought Michael.

"_I agree," _thought Isabel responding to his musings.

"Well," said Kyle trying to break the tension, "at least your mom took it well. What do you think your dad's going to say?"

"Absolutely nothing," responded Diane, re-entering the room. "Because we're not going to tell him. At least not yet."

Everyone's mouths dropped open. "Trust me Max, with the stress your dad is under at work, I don't think this a good time to tell him that you and Tess have a son, no matter how cute he is."

"Well, when do we tell dad?" asked Max.

"When you've moved to campus," Diane muttered.

"We can't keep it a secret _that _long," said Isabel.

"Honey, there are nine of us and one of your dad, how hard could it be?"

_Evan's Home- 8:13 am_

About half an hour after Max had dumped the big news on his mom, the ten of them, including Max's father were sitting in the living room eating breakfast. Tess had hesitantly placed Zan in Max's room after minutes of Max telling her that he would put a shield over their son and that he would be safe. Now they just had to pray that Zan didn't wake up and start crying before Phillip Evans went to work.

"So, Tess," began Phillip, "now that you're back in Roswell, where will you live?"

Tess quickly swallowed a mouthful of eggs before replying. "Well, before my dad died he had a will and everything," she said, trying to sound sad about Nasedo's death. "So everything's in my name, the house and the life insurance he had. Someone's been taking care of the upkeep of the house, now I just have to go to a notary and claim it."

"You're only eighteen and you're a friend of Max and Izzy, you have a home here," said Phillip smiling broadly before biting into his bacon.

"And with me and my dad," said Kyle shaking a sausage link at her before devouring it.

"Thanks, all of you, but I think I'll be okay," Tess said confidently.

"Are you sure it won't bother you living alone?" asked Phillip.

"I don't think so. Ed was always out of town for work so I'm kinda used to it."

Diane grimaced at her words when she realized that she had rarely seen Ed Harding around town and that, more importantly, he had never actually seen him with Tess. For the future, Diane made it her business to make sure Tess felt like she was a real part of the Evans bunch.

"Well, Tess," said Phillip, looking at his watch, "It was nice seeing you again."

"Thank you, Mr. Evans," she said. "You too."

"Don't be a stranger," he said, picking up his coat before kissing Isabel and Diane on the cheek. "See you kids later."

Holding their breath they watched Phillip walk out of the door. "See, piece of cake," said Diane.

"We're just lucky he didn't cry," said Isabel.

"Thanks for stating the obvious, Lonnie," Michael muttered. Isabel, Max and Tess looked at him with bulging eyes.

"Whose Lonnie?" asked Diane.

Michael almost sputtered. "Just my little nickname for Isabel."

Diane looked at him oddly before she began collecting the paper plates. "Let me help you Mrs. Evans," said Tess.

Diane waved the request away. "You're our guest. Besides it's all paper. I can handle it. You guys have been up all night. Get some rest."

Isabel got up from the table and pushed her chair in. "Who wants to crash here, we have plenty of blankets?"

Liz quickly got up from her seat. "I think I'm going to go. I have a shift at the Crashdown today."

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" asked Maria. Liz frowned. "What? I want to stay here with the baby."

"Okay," said Liz. "Max, will you walk me to my car?"

Max hesitated. "Sure. I'll be back," he said to Tess.

The group watched as Liz filed out of the door, Max following behind her. "He's a beautiful baby," she said honestly as they walked to her car.

"Thanks," he said.

"Look I know the next few days will be crazy for you, but do you think you could come see me tonight after the Crashdown closes?"

"I don't know," he said truthfully. All Max really wanted to do was spend time with Zan and Tess. "I'll try, if things aren't too chaotic."

"Thanks Max," she said, standing onto her tip toes to kiss him. He quickly turned his face so that she kissed his cheek. Feeling completely blown off and stupid, Liz stepped into her car and drove off. Max quickly re-entered his home without a second glance to the fleeing brunette.

"So, Tess, if you ever need a baby sitter, I'm totally up for it," said Maria, watching as Alex stood up. "Where are you going?"

"I haven't seen my parents in over a year, I'm going home," he said walking to Maria, Tess and Isabel and giving them all individuals kisses on their cheeks. "I'll call you all later." Quickly Alex rushed out of the door, anxious to see his family after such a long time.

"I guess that leaves Michael, Kyle and Maria sleeping on the floor."

"Actually, I'm sure my dad will want to know about Tess and the baby, I'm going to go," said Kyle. "Are you sure you don't want a ride, Maria?"

"Oh I suppose," she said half-heartedly. "Tess, Max please, please, please, call me to baby-sit."

"Will do," said Max, walking towards Tess.

The four aliens watched the rest of their human friends leave the house. They were all exhausted and the one thing Max wanted to do more than anything was sleep.

"Michael, you staying?" asked Isabel.

"Yea, pass me a sleeping bag will you?" asked Michael.

"Sure," Isabel said, ushering him up the stairs. "You can sleep in my room."

Max smiled as Isabel and Michael ascended the stairs leaving him alone with Tess in the living room. She yawned.

"Let's get you to bed," said Max.

"I need to go to the mall first," she said. "I don't have any clothes."

"Well, you can borrow some of Isabel's," he said, grabbing her by the hand and leading her toward his bedroom.

"I don't think they'll fit," said Tess blushing as she looked down at her chest. Max smiled heatedly. It was the first time he had noticed the…expanse in her figure. He had imagined that she would have gained weight but she was skinnier than before and a lot bustier.

"We'll figure out something," he said. "And I'll send my mom for diapers and stuff, she won't mind."

"Max, the baby is my responsibility—"

"No, he's our responsibility," said Max, correcting her as he pushed open the door of his bedroom to find a very awake Zan staring brightly at them.

"Mama," cried the baby's soft voice, causing Max's eyes to widen.

"He talks?"

"Oh yea," she said, touching the shield and making it disappear before she grabbed Zan and picked him up causing the child to giggle. He quickly laid his head on his mother's chest before looking to Max, who smiled at his son.

"You want to shower first?" asked Max.

"Yea," said Tess tiredly, handing him the baby and walking to the nearest bathroom.

For minutes Max just held Zan, not truly believing that his son was back. Zan continued staring at his father, his blue eyes constantly reminding him of Tess. Eventually he heard the shower water turn off just as Zan began to drift off into sleep again. Tenderly he placed the baby on the bed just as his alien wife entered the room. Max was quickly taken aback by her appearance.

She was wet.

And in a towel.

Max swallowed hard. "Can I borrow a shirt or something?" she asked, embarrassed. Sure, Max had seen her naked, but that was a long time ago and she was a little self conscious about her body at the moment.

Max noticed her discomfort. "Yea," he said walking toward her, his hands caressing her face. "You're beautiful."

She blushed even harder. Max, liking whatever affect he was having on her quickly rushed to his drawer and pulled out a "George W. is An Alien" shirt before gently placing in her hands. He turned around and began searching through his own things for something to wear.

After grabbing a pair of checkered pajama bottoms he turned around, astonished at what he found. Tess' towel, which had previously been wrapped around her upper body, was now hanging off of her extremely small waist. Her hair was pulled over her shoulder and Max was very privy to the milky white skin of her back. He watched mesmerized as she lifted her arms to put on the shirt he gave her, the outline of her breasts visible even with her back to him. She pulled the shirt down and it ventured past her slim hips before she eventually let the towel drop to the floor. Max quickly got a peak of her upper thighs and had to keep himself from either groaning really loud or launching himself at her. Slowly, she turned around to face him.

He smiled at her before rushing to the shower and bathing himself in the icy cold water. Tess walked to the bed and picked up her son. "Hi honey."

Zan reached for her face. "Yea, I missed you too," she said to him. "Your dad's in the shower, he'll be out in a little bit."

She reached for the collar of Max's shirt and pulled it down past her chest so that she could feed Zan. Quietly she hummed to him watching, his eyes never leaving hers. Thankful for the cold shower, Max sauntered back into his room. He was shocked and utterly amazed at what he was seeing.

He wasn't sure if it was the morning sunlight descending onto her body or the fact that she was nursing their son and singing to him, but Max was momentarily overwhelmed by how beautiful she looked. He couldn't help but stare. He smiled when she eventually noticed him staring at her and blushed harder than she had ever in her life. Max leaned against the doorway as Tess finished feeding their son.

"Sorry," she said, tapping Zan's back until he let out a loud burp.

"Don't be," said Max, sitting on the bed next to her as she covered herself and laid Zan down on the bed next to her.

"Does it hurt?"

"It used to," she said honestly. "But you get used to it, I guess."

"Oh," said Max. "I'm so sorry that you had to do this alone."

"Do what?"

"Take care of Zan, fight for him, fight for us," said Max. "I was so quick to judge you, Tess. I don't how I'm going to make this up to you."

"You already have Max, when you gave me him," she said stroking her son's head. "He's the best gift anyone has ever given to me and everything I did, everything that happened; I'd do it again for him."

He watched as his wife crawled into his full size bed, resting Zan's head on her chest. The baby reached out and clutched Tess' shirt and Max couldn't help but think how amazingly beautiful his family was. Following her, he crawled into bed and got under the covers. Beneath the sheets his hands gently caressed her thigh and Tess closed her eyes at the sensation it gave. She tried to convince herself that Max belonged to Liz and it was the situation that was making him act so lovingly toward her.

Max couldn't get over how soft her skin was. He had to forcefully block the images of their love-making in the conservatory. "_There will be plenty of time for that," _he thought before scolding himself. She had just got back from another planet after almost dying and he was thinking about making love to her.

"Night, Max," she said, her eyes closing. Before drifting into a fitful slumber, Tess felt a pair of warm lips brush against her temple and had fleeting thoughts about how amazingly perfect her family was.


	7. Chapter 7

Protector

Chapter 7: A Quiet Conversation

Disclaimer: I don't own Roswell

A/N: I know its been a while. Is anyone still interested in this?

Rating: M

I

I

Tess started in bed, the covers wrapped tightly around her body. She opened her eyes to find herself tucked under brown covers and quickly realized that she was in a bedroom the belonged to a male. She felt next to her for a counterpart, but found nothing but empty space. Her mind screamed with questions and she suddenly realized she had no idea where her son was. Quickly she sat upright and began to look around wildly, just as Max walked into the room with Zan cradled safely in his arms. He quickly noticed Tess' frantic state and rushed toward her.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his free hand reaching out and touching her face.

She looked at him oddly and then at the child in his arms and breathed a sigh of relief. She was in Max's room and he was holding their son. For a moment she had forgotten how she got here and why her son was not with her. All the memories of this morning's events flooded her mind and she lay down onto the bed, finally relaxed.

"Nothing's wrong. I just…for a minute I forgot where I was. I thought….I didn't know where Zan was," said Tess, trying to calm herself.

Max frowned. "I'm sorry, but he woke up before you and he was wet and I didn't want him to wake you."

"It's okay. Did you change him?"

"Yea…well my mom helped a bit. I've never really handled babies before," he said grinning nervously.

"What time is it?" asked Tess, looking toward the window. It was already dark outside.

"Almost eight, you slept for a while. How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay. It's just…it's weird to be back. I probably should get up," said Tess, rising from her prostrated position and standing up. She quickly bent down and planted a soft kiss on Zan's forehead.

"Max, you wouldn't happen to have anything for me to wear?" she asked, looking down at the t-shirt that Max had given her to sleep in.

"I'm sure we'll find something. I can check with Isabel as soon as her and Michael…"

Tess smirked. "As soon as they what?"

"They've been locked in that room all day. And its quiet…too quiet. I don't know what the hell they're doing in there."

Tess laughed lightly. "They're Michael and Isabel, they can't be doing much."

"A lot has changed since you left, Tess," said Max, laying a sleeping Zan on the bed and tucking him neatly beneath the covers.

"What do you mean?" asked Tess, leaning against Max's closet.

"We've changed, relationships have changed."

"You mean Michael and Isabel are together?" asked Tess, her mouth dropping. How could this have happened? When she left, Michael and Maria were practically heading down the aisle. What could have happened?

"No they're not together, but they're not apart. Especially after last night. I've been getting a weird vibe from them, like they're up to something."

Tess chuckled. "Like what? Overthrowing the government?"

"I don't know," said Max, sitting on the bed next to Zan. "They seem closer, somehow. I don't blame them though, after what happened."

"What do you mean?"

"When we healed you Tess, I got flashes of you, of Ava and of myself. A bunch of feelings that I haven't felt in such a long time came back last night. I have a feeling that I wasn't the only one being bombarded with images."

Tess was surprised as his admission. "What did you see?"

"I saw you begging Alex to help you," said Max, matter of factly, watching Tess' face for a reaction; however she remained stoic.

"That's it?"

"No…Tess did you know we had a daughter?"

Tess' eyes widened as she opened and closed her mouth. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, when we died, I think you were pregnant."

"Oh my god."

"I know," he said, standing up and walking toward her. Instinctively he reached out to her, and for the first time in over a year, she found herself being cradled protectively by Max Evans. It was a familiar feeling, yet strange. She wasn't sure if she liked it. "I think you may have died while you were carrying her. In the vision, Vilandra seemed to be already in consort with Khivar. I was…afraid."

Tess looked up into his dark brown eyes and hesitated. She was so close to doing something she might regret with Max. She was tired of chasing after a man that didn't belong to her. A man that never would. She backed away from him slowly. He looked at her with a far off expression on his face. "I miss it," he said after a moment.

"Miss what?" asked Tess.

"The way things used to be," said Max. "Back home. Surprisingly things were less complicated there, than they are here. At least from what I can remember."

Tess agreed. "Things are very different at home, but not necessarily easier. Anywhere you live you can expect to struggle. I did."

"I know. But there would be fewer secrets, less hiding, less fear."

"You're right," said Tess, staring at Zan. "There would be."

Silence descended upon them as Max watched Tess gaze upon their son. How could he tell her that he and Liz weren't together right now, that in her absence he had dreamed of what it would be like to see her again, to touch her. She was different now. She wasn't the spunky blonde he had known and she wasn't the woman whom he knew would wait an eternity to have him. She was older now, sadder. And Max knew that it was his fault for her metamorphosis. He wondered if things had gotten so bad between them that he might not be able to make it right. Things had to work out between them. They had a son to think about. They had a future.

"Michael and Maria aren't the only ones who have fallen apart, Tess," said Max after a moment. She looked at him quizzically wondering what he meant by that. Surely he couldn't be alluding to him and Liz, his alleged soul mate.

"How so?"

"After you left, everyone sort of fell apart. Kyle, Valenti….me and Liz."

If Tess had been eating something, she would have choked on it. "You and Liz?"

"Yes," said Max, walking toward her slowly.

"I'm…uh….sorry to hear that," said Tess, her level of anxiety growing as Max approached her.

"No you're not," he said, stopping in front of her.

"No, I'm not," she admitted, smiling softly at him. "Maybe I am, I'm not sure. I know how much you loved her."

"I did love her, maybe too much. I loved her so much that I was willing to hurt everyone around me just to be with her. I exposed Michael and Isabel, I lied to everyone, I involved Maria and Alex, just to be with her."

"Where is this going Max?" she asked. This wasn't exactly what she wanted to hear: that Max had treaded through hell and high water to be with Liz.

"All I'm saying is that what I felt for Liz might not have been love, but infatuation. A deep obsession that we had for each other that neither of us had the ability to control. It was more of a sickness than anything. She gave me humanity, and I'm not exactly sure what I gave her."

"You gave her life, Max, in more ways than one."

"I know that, and from that point on I made so many bad decisions," said Max, walking toward the window and gazing sullenly at the full moon. "Decisions that hurt a lot of people. Decisions that hurt you." He turned to face her. "I'm so sorry, Tess."

She grimaced, the last she needed was Max apologizing to her. "We all made a lot of bad choices, me being the queen of them. You're not the only one who let someone change your outlook on life."

"What do you mean?" asked Max as he and Tess sat on the bed, their son between them.

She sighed. "For my whole life, Nasedo fed me our story of how we fell in love on Antar and how we died trying to protect each other. I had this picture perfect idea of you, that I would find you one day and you would rescue me from Nasedo and that we would live this ideal life, starting from where we left off. I had never imagined that by the time I got to you, you would be in love with someone else. But you were and I had to deal with that. I tried…I really did. I thought of you as a savior and not…and not as the person you were. I'm sorry for that."

"There's a happy ending to this story Tess," said Max, reaching out and caressing her face. "Liz and I are over, the trials and the struggles are behind us. In a way I think she knows that. Nasedo is gone; he can't hurt you anymore, Tess. He can't hurt any of us."

"So where's the happy ending?" she asked.

"Here," he said, gesturing to their son. "And here." He grabbed Tess' hand and brought it to his lips. She almost sighed at the feeling of his soft, perfect lips pressed against her skin.

"Max," she said, watching as he rubbed her hands. "I don't know if I can."

Max was taken aback by her statement. "Why not?"

"Because, you have so much power over me and you have the ability to break my heart in more ways than one. I don't know if I can live knowing that. Knowing that Liz can still be a threat or that anyone else can. I'm afraid."

"Tess I can't promise you forever and I can't promise you that I won't make any mistakes, but I can promise you love and fidelity, promise that I will take care of our son the best way I know how and the promise to take care of you. All these nights without you, I realized how much I missed you. I love you Tess, not Liz, not anyone else…you."

Tess smiled, her eyes brimming with tears. A year ago she would have given anything to hear him say that to her, to have him touching her and looking at her the way he was right now. But she had lost so much in the past year, and she was so scared to lose everything again. It wasn't just her anymore; she had her son to worry about.

"I need time," said Tess, breathing heavily, staring at Max's crestfallen face. "I do…I love you, too. But so much has happened Max, so much. And if we do this, it has to be slow, not like before. Promise me, just promise me that.

Max leaned in closely to her, and he could feel her breath tickle his lips. "I promise," he said. She smiled gently as she felt his lips brush against hers; bringing them into a slow, soft kiss. He caressed her cheek as she nipped at his bottom lip. He groaned softly as her fingers trailed down his abdomen, resting on his chest. Remembering his promise to take things slow, he broke the kiss. She smiled at him gently.

"Max?"

"Yes."

"Can you take me to Kyle's house," said Tess. "I need to ask the Sheriff a favor."


	8. Chapter 8

Protector

Chapter 8: We Are Family

A/N: I hate when authors leave their work undone. So I am going to finish all of my stories because it sucks to read something that's in progress forever. I hope you like this chapter, review and let me know. Also, I hate when they make Liz a bitch in these stories, because even though I'm a rebel, I don't dislike her character. She sacrificed a lot to be with Max. She deserves to be portrayed in a true light.

Disclaimer: I don't own Roswell.

Rating: M (in later chapters)

* * *

Her finger hovered over the door bell for a moment before she let her hand fall to her side. Zan looked up at her and gurgled, his blue eyes shining beneath the sun. She wasn't sure why she was so damn nervous about ringing the door bell; it was only Kyle and the sheriff. She sighed; a year ago coming to this house would not have been a problem. She would have been arm in arm with Kyle as he keyed into their home. They would have been discussing movies, videogames, or the newest girl Kyle was interested in before venturing into the home to find a smiling Jim Valenti beckoning them in with an easy grin. But this was not a year ago and just a day prior to her arrival on Earth, Jim and Kyle had thought her a murder, someone who had betrayed them in the worst possible way. What if the sheriff still doubted her, what if Kyle didn't believe in her anymore? Here, on this Sunday morning, Tess Harding stood with her son pondering these things in front of the Valenti household.

"What's wrong?" asked Max, coming up to Tess and putting a gentle hand on her shoulder.

She sighed. "I'm nervous."

"It's just Kyle and Valenti," he said soothingly. "It'll be fine."

"Okay," she said raising her hand and pressing the smooth, plastic doorbell. She heard a muffled voice yell something behind the door before it swung open.

"I was hoping you'd come by!" yelled Kyle, bringing her into a soft hug as to not squish the small child in her arms. "My dad's home. Come inside." He ushered them in before closing the door. "Hey Max."

"Hey Kyle," he replied scratching the back of his neck.

"Hey dad!" Kyle yelled. "Tess and Max are here! They brought the baby."

Tess immediately heard footsteps rushing in her direction and her eyes widened. For a minute she thought she would go into anaphylactic shock until she felt Max's arm go around her shoulders and pull her close to him.

"Relax," he said, before placing a kiss on the back of her head.

"Tess!" cried Valenti, walking up to her and embracing her in a hug.

She was caught off guard by his embrace but quickly returned the gesture of affection.

"I'm so glad your back," he said. "Kyle told me about everything…everything that happened. Are you okay?" He looked deeply into her eyes.

"Yeah, I am," she said truthfully, she was better than okay.

Noticing the need for a little pseudo father-daughter time, Max decided it was time to leave so Tess, Kyle and Jim could catch up on things.

"Tess, I'm going to go," he said. "There's something I have to do. Call me when you're ready to go." He kissed her cheek before kissing his sons head.

"See you later, Max," said the sheriff, beaming at little Zan as Max headed out of the door and straight to the Crashdown.

* * *

For a moment, Max pondered turning back and going to his house to wait for Tess' call. But he decided otherwise. He knew that with everything going on between him and Tess, he really needed to talk to Liz. He drove silently, the sound of alternative rock wafting through the otherwise silent vehicle as he sped down the streets of Roswell, New Mexico. He really wanted to get this over with; he just needed to make sure that Liz understood. Now that Tess was back, the last thing he needed was his ex-relationship with Liz to push her away. There was no way that he was going to lose his wife and his son.

He pulled up in front of the busy café and parked the car before turning off the ignition and stepping into the heat. The air was dry and hot and he could already feel the tingling sensation that occurred right before you began to sweat. Wiping his brow and mustering his courage he stepped into the Crashdown, the cool air conditioning blowing him down before he spotted the brunette he was looking for. He had totally forgotten about the Sunday brunch special and when he realized how many people were in the restaurant he decided to leave the crowded café. Just as he turned to leave he heard _her_ yell his name. He turned around slowly to see her delivering a steaming plate of bacon and eggs to a patron and rushing over to meet him. He wasn't surprised when she hugged him.

"I didn't expect to see you here anytime soon," she said, smiling at him. "It's crazy today isn't? The last few Sundays have been like this."

"Yeah…yeah it is. I wanted to talk to you about something but it can wait," he said turning to leave again before the feeling of Liz' hand on his arm stopped him.

"Don't go," said Liz, "I have a fifteen minute break in about ten minutes." She checked the watch on her arm; the watch that Max had bought for her about a year ago.

"Okay, I'll wait then."

"Can I get you anything?" She led him to a newly freed table.

"Just some water maybe," he said. "My mom made us a huge breakfast this morning. I don't think I could eat anything else."

She smiled gently at him before nodding. "Sure, one water coming up."

She returned in about a minute with his beverage before retuning to waitressing the packed café. In his head Max practiced what he would say to Liz, how we would tell her about his budding relationship with Tess. He sighed; he didn't want to hurt Liz, but it was better to tell her than letting her get the shock of her life when she encounters him and Tess kissing or out with their son, two things he planned on doing plenty of. He grinned at the thought of taking Zan to the Zoo, to games, to movies, with Tess by his side. He wanted to start his new life and now he had to say goodbye to his old one. He was so caught up in his thoughts that Max didn't notice Liz plop down beside him and touch his hand.

"Hey," she said brightly. "I'm all yours."

Max smiled at her but remained quiet.

"How's it going with your dad? Maria told me you were hiding Zan from him for a while."

Max chuckled. "It's going well. Zan's a good baby. He doesn't really cry too often. Tess has some sort of sixth sense and goes to him just before he realizes he needs something."

Liz shrugged. "Maybe it's a mom thing."

"I don't think so. I think it's a Czechoslovakian thing. They have some sort of amazing connection. It's funny to watch."

"What do you mean?" asked Liz, intrigued.

"Okay so when she's nervous or upset, it's like he knows. He'll reach out to her or look at her in this really weird way like he's trying to comfort her."

"Well, she did say they were connected."

"Yeah, I guess I just didn't expect a baby to be so intuitive."

Liz smiled. "Well you're pretty intuitive and he's your son." Max smiled at the compliment.

"So what are your plans for today, I get off at five. Maybe we can do something," said Liz hopefully.

Max frowned; here it comes. "I can't, Tess and I…"

"It's okay Max, I understand," she said, raising her hand.

"You do?"

"Of course, you've been searching for Zan for so long and you want to spend time with him. I'm really glad you found him."

Max smiled; why did she have to be so understanding all the time? She was making this a lot harder. "Not only that…Liz, Tess and I have a lot of catching up to do and we've been spending so much time together."

Liz frowned. "I know. You and her have this special bond because of Zan. I understand that. I don't particularly like it, but I don't want to get in the way of you and your son, Max."

"It's not just a special bond Liz," he said automatically. How should he tell her? _Remember at the dance when you thought I would say, "Oh by the way, I remember Tess and I love her," well "I remember Tess and I love her."_ Max glowered. How the hell was he supposed to do this without breaking her heart? "She's…Tess is more to me than just the mother of my child."

Liz frowned, she didn't like where this was going. She tried to tell herself to be calm, that maybe the whole "She's my wife" thing yesterday meant nothing, nor did the fact that they shared a past life together. "Max I should get back to work, my fifteen minutes are up." She knew she was lying, she had a couple of more minutes to spare, but she couldn't bear the thought of Max letting her know that it was finally, really and truly over. That all the hope that she had for them being together had completely been destroyed.

"Liz this is kind of important," he said. "Can we go outside and talk about this?"

"I really can't Max," said Liz, getting up hurriedly and walking to the kitchen. "I'll call you later, okay?" She disappeared behind the kitchen doors. Max sighed; he was going to have to tell her that he was in love with Tess and preferably sooner than later.

* * *

"Can I hold him?" Jim asked hopefully, eyeing the quiet child in Tess' arms.

She grinned. "Of course you can." She handed Zan to Jim and watched as they interacted together. Zan immediately became intrigued by the shiny silver buttons on the sheriff's button down plaid shirt and began reaching for them. "He's adorable, Tess," he said. "Aren't you?" He picked up the child and lifted him into the air which sent Zan into a fit of giggles.

Kyle entered the room with a couple of sodas, which he handed to Tess and his father. She reached into the small bag at her side and handed a bottle of apple juice to the sheriff. "Just in case he gets thirsty," she said.

"I heard you named him after me and Alex," he said, taking the top off the bottle and feeding it to Zan as he hungrily drunk. "I'm honored."

"You did so much for me and Zan, it was the least I could do. Speaking of, there's another favor I need to ask you," she said, watching her son drink greedily.

"Anything," said the sheriff as Kyle came and took a seat next to his dad.

"Nasedo was the only semi father that I had and he's gone. I never really had a family and I want so much better for my son. I know that I wasn't really your daughter and after everything that I did I would understand if you guys said no, but I was hoping you could think of Zan as your grandson and nephew, it would really mean a lot to me and Max, and Zan too," she said hopefully.

Kyle smiled at her then at the baby. "Of course we would!" yelled the sheriff looking from the little boy to Tess. "I've always thought of you as my daughter, Tess, and I would love to have Zan as a grandson."

"We can take him to his first football game!" said Kyle looking to as he reached toward the bottle. "Look at him, he's already training to be a quarterback."

"And we can take him fishing," said Valenti, looking down at the kid.

Tess smiled, she felt like she was going to cry she was so happy. "Thanks guys," she said sweetly.

"You know, this is still your home, if you and Zan want to come and live here, by all means, do. I meant what I said before you left, you'll always have a place here," said Jim.

Tess grinned from ear to ear. "Thanks, but I think its time for Zan and I to get a place of our own here. I'm his mother and I want to be fully responsible for him. I think we'll be okay. If I inherit your parenting skills, I know we'll be."

"Where will you live?" asked Jim, throwing a handful of pretzels into his mouth.

"Well, I still technically own the house Nasedo and I lived in, so I just need to go claim it at the bank and get it fixed up, which using my 'bewitched' powers, I can do in no time." She eyed Kyle who grinned, remembering the quip. "I don't know what kind of dirty dealings Nasedo did but he left me a lot of money so I can buy stuff for me and the baby. As long as I have you guys, Max and my son, I know I'll be alright. But I think I should call Max, there's a lot of stuff we have to do."

Jim rose up and handed the baby to Tess before handing her the phone to call Max to come and get her.

* * *

"Where'd you go?" asked Tess as she looked behind to check on Zan who was asleep in his car seat.

"To see Liz."

"Oh," Tess said, her voice grim.

"I went to tell her that I was in love with you," he said, smirking.

"You did?" She tried to hide the excitement and glee from her voice but to no avail. Max could tell she was thrilled. "What did she say?"

"She left before I could tell her," he said, pulling up into the driveway and removing the key from the ignition. "I think she knew what I was there for."

"Max you don't have to tell her now. You've got a lot of things on your plate right now with me and the baby back on Earth. If you need time, I understand."

"No, I want to start our life together," said Max. "And I can't do that with this hovering over me. I want to tell Liz about us, so that I can move on with you and our son."

She smiled broadly as Max leaned in and gave her a small peck on the lips. "Mind taking me to the bank and stuff? I need to run some errands and get this house together," she said. "I'm ready to start our life too."

Max gleefully pulled out of the driveway as he and Tess silently mused about their future together completely unaware of the pair of eyes that were watching them from afar.


End file.
